The Bentonville FD Benefits from Deploying Drones

An active fire situation made the Bentonville Fire Department realize ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’

By Ishveena Singh Ishveena Singh
March 19, 2020

The perfect amalgamation of tradition, southern charm, and a bustling technology scene, Bentonville, Arkansas, is the town that gave us the world’s largest brick-and-mortar retailer, Walmart. Bentonville is also Arkansas’ fastest-growing city, growing 45% in the past 8 years. 

It was a little after 11 am on December 4, 2019, when the Bentonville Fire Department received a 911 alert. An industrial plant manufacturing foam core sheet products had caught fire downtown.

Multiple risk factors

As Battalion Chief Jeremy Metcalf rushed to the scene and took stock of the situation, the first thing he noticed was the frightful proximity of the hotspot to an electric power substation. The blaze had caused several transmission lines to blow and fall to the ground, forcing the first responders to maneuver around hazardous, high-voltage equipment. If that wasn’t worrisome enough, the storage yard – where most of the fire was contained – housed four big silos of combustible plastic products (polystyrene beads) waiting to be shipped out. These silos collapsed pretty early on and emitted a smoke plume so massive, it could be seen from as far away as 23 miles. The nearby Walmart office had to be evacuated, while the neighboring city of Rogers decided to keep students indoors because of the thick, toxic smoke clouds. 

Drone perspective of an industrial fireAn overhead perspective helps direct resources in containing this industrial fire


The sheer volume of the smoke made it increasingly difficult for Metcalf and his crew to determine how much fire they were dealing with or what could be the spots for possible extension of the fire. And then, they discovered a virtual time bomb waiting to go off.

“There was a tank which contained 6,500 gallons of difluoroethane, a highly flammable chemical which is typically used as a foam expansion agent,” Metcalf explained. It was critical to closely monitor this tank because “prolonged exposure to heat can cause difluoroethane storage containers to explode violently, releasing toxic fumes.”

Drone close-up on a volatile industrial fireThe fires jeopardize this 6,500-gallon tank of highly flammable difluoroethane 

As determined as Metcalf was to contain and extinguish the fire’s spread at the earliest, he did not want to put the crews in jeopardy by deploying them in close proximity to these tanks to gather temperature readings with hand-held sensors. Instead, he decided to leverage drones.

Owned and operated by former firefighters and first responders, a team from Unmanned Vehicle Technologies (UVT) swiftly clocked in, armed with the most advanced industrial drones to ensure mission-critical operational support to the Bentonville Fire Department.

Bringing out the big guns

The small and easily deployable DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual (M2E Dual) was in the sky within minutes to give the firefighters a real-time, bird’s eye view of the fire spread. This proved critical in stopping the extent of fire from the storage yard to the main building of the industrial plant.

DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise SeriesMavic 2 Enterprise Dual

“Having a drone in the air is very different from looking at something with binoculars from a distance. Initially, with all the smoke, we couldn’t spot how close the fire had crept to the main building,” Metcalf said. “So, having this kind of a scene size-up from another vantage point was really helpful.”

The ticking time bomb that was the difluoroethane tank, meanwhile, needed an even more robust solution – the DJI Matrice 210 V2 with Z30 zoom and Zenmuse XT2 thermal cameras. The highly advanced and versatile drone captured the tank’s heat signature from all sides, closing in on areas where it would have been physically impossible for the crew to reach.

DJI Matrice 210 Z30 XT2M210 V2 + Z30 + XT2

With data this precise, Metcalf was able to make informed decisions that allowed his team to successfully cool the tank and keep it well below the 125 °F limit. “Using drones gave us an unprecedented level of situational awareness, with the biggest advantage being that we did not have to put any of our guys in harm's way,” Metcalf commented. By 6 pm, the fire was brought completely under control with zero casualties.

Drone Crystal Sky thermal overlay in industrial fireDrone thermal imagery helps teams monitor hazards and identify hotspots

Drones for public safety organizations

Even as Bentonville first responders and City Council members concurred having drone technology made fighting the blaze safer for all, Metcalf was quick to point out that his city could benefit from unmanned aerial prowess in a number of other scenarios.

“We have several small creeks in the city where flooding occurs during springtime. Putting our guys in swift waters to rescue someone from a stranded vehicle is one of the most dangerous things we do. And nine out of 10 times, we discover that the vehicle is empty and the owner has already escaped. But there is no way for us to know that – unless we put a drone in the air to look for thermal signatures.” 

Similarly, if someone goes missing in the woods, instead of putting a search party on the ground and hoping that they stumble upon the missing person, Bentonville could task a drone to scope out heat profiles," Metcalf suggested. 

"Aerial thermal imagery can also add tremendous value to hazmat situations. And can you imagine how many lives can be saved by using a drone with thermal imaging capabilities during a bad car wreck?” 

Drones have gained a foothold in the sphere of public safety and forward-looking government agencies are expanding their use in areas including environmental services, public works, and transportation. 

Learn more about the basics of thermal drones or about when thermal drones made an impact.

Share on Social Media:

Tags: Public Safety

DJI Thermal Guidebook Desktop CTA

To stay in touch and receive ebooks, resources, and product updates, subscribe to our newsletter.

Ishveena Singh
About the Author Ishveena Singh

Ishveena Singh (she/her) is a multi-platform journalist and writer whose articles on drones and geospatial technologies have appeared in Geospatial World, GeoConnexion, MapScaping, Fluid Handling International, Women Who Drone, Geoawesomeness, and many other publications. Currently, she contributes regular news, case studies, and feature pieces to DroneDJ.com.

Before turning to the world of drones, Ishveena spent nearly a decade writing and editing for newspapers and media websites including The Times of India, Microsoft’s MSN News, Miami Herald International, and Daily Post India.

Ishveena has been named as one of the 50 Rising Stars of the geospatial industry by Geospatial Media and Communications, the creators of Geospatial World Forum and GeoBuiz Summit.

Related articles

Recent Posts

AEC & Surveying

AlUla: Preserving Saudi Arabia’s Majestic Cultural Heritage with Drones

Situated in northwest Saudi Arabia, AlUla is an iconic and inspiring region that encapsulates 200,000 years of human history. Often described as the “world’s largest living museum,” the UNESCO World...
Read More

Pilot Profile: Using Modern UAVs in Extreme Volcanic Environments for Atmospheric Research

Since the dawn of time, volcanoes have been key vectors of creation on earth, but also the source of considerable devastation – at times even complete extinction. In his work studying those...
Read More

Construction | AEC & Surveying

Deutsche Bahn Using Drones for its Massive Riedbahn Railway Construction Project

The Riedbahn rail link between Frankfurt/Main and Mannheim is one of Deutsche Bahn’s (DB) busiest lines, and in need of vast repairs.
Read More

Energy | Electricity | Inspection

How Drones are Transforming Solar PV Installation in Germany

Renewable energy adoption is on the rise across Europe. Photovoltaic capacity alone increased by 47% in 2022. The German government is leading the way with an ambitious target for renewable sources...
Read More